The Best New Books to Read This September

This month's new releases offer a look into the lives of tech moguls and Oscar winners, feminist spins on classic literature, and thoughtful analyses of modern life.

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The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Man Booker Prize-winning author Barker returns with this twist on Homer's epic, The Iliad. Told from the perspective of Briseis, the Princess of Lyrnessus captured and forced into sexual slavery, Barker's novel looks beyond the narratives of the great war heroes of Greece, instead focusing on the stories of the women captured and held in the Trojan camp—those whose identities and struggles were lost to history. Buy Now

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Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs

This memoir from Lisa Brennan-Jobs, the daughter of Apple founder Steve Jobs, is making waves before it even hits shelves. Jobs' widow has pushed back against the recollections described by her stepdaughter that paint the tech mogul in a less-than-stellar light, yet the memoir avoids becoming the traditional scathing tell-all thanks to Brennan-Jobs' practical, forgiving tone, according to the New York Times. After numerous biographies and biopics of the man himself, this memoir offers a glimpse into another facet of Jobs, and the ways in which the innovator affected the lives of those closest to him. Buy Now

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The Wildlands by Abby Geni

In her sophomore novel, Geni paints a family divided by more than physical destruction in the wake of a massive tornado. Three years after the disaster, orphaned siblings Darlene, Tucker, Jane, and Cora are torn apart when Tucker becomes a fanatical animal rights activist, bombing a local cosmetics factory and absconding with 9-year-old Cora. As Darlene and Jane work with the local authorities to track down their brother and sister, young Cora follows her beloved brother on a cross-country reign of terror. Buy now

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The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling

The debut novel from the editor of online literary publication The Millionstells the story of a young mother on the verge of a breakdown and has already been longlisted for The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. With her husband unable to return home, Daphne moves into a mobile home in Altavista left to her by her grandparents with her toddler Honey in tow. As she connects with her neighbors and surrenders to excessive drinking, Daphne finds herself in over her head in more ways than one. Buy Now

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The Best Damn Answers to Life's Hardest Questions by Tess Koman

"Do I need more coffee?" The answer is easy—and so is the question of whether to gift this book of delightful quizzes and flowcharts to your BFF. Buy Now

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Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart

The latest novel from bestselling author Shytengart follows Barry, a hedge fund manager who sets off on a cross-country bus trip to find his bliss, leaving behind an SEC investigation, a failed marriage, and a son recently diagnosed with autism. As his journey continues, Barry and his wife Shiva must deal with the fallout of his decisions and the realities of a life that hasn't turned out the way either of them planned. Buy Now

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The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

In London, 1785, sensible Jonah Hancock's fortunes take a dramatic turn when he comes into possession of the shriveled body of a dead mermaid. The creature quickly attracts the attention of a local madame who uses it as a burlesque sideshow attraction—described by Kirkus Reviews as a scene "that would make HBO executives blush"—and entwines Jonah with the shrewd, beautiful prostitute Angelica.

Fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez will be intrigued by this debut novel, a reimagining of Liberia's infancy in the 19th century. Centered on Gbessa, June Dey, and Norman Aragon—a West African villager, a former slave, and the mixed race son of a colonizer and a slave, respectively—the trio band together, using their supernaturally-tinged abilities to resolve social tensions in the settlement of Monrovia.

Mental illness and the breakdown of relationships lie at the heart of this debut novel. In the wake of their mother's attempted suicide and subsequent commitment, teenagers Edith and Mae are sent to New York to live with their estranged father, a once-successful writer on the downswing of his career. While practical, loyal Edith blames her father for her mother's condition, the enigmatic and empathetic Mae is drawn to him, craving his attention. This could prove disastrous when their father begins mining their experiences for his work.

Already longlisted for this year's Man Booker Prize, the latest novel from Half-Blood Blues writer Edugyan follows Wash, a young man born into slavery, as he and his eccentric master travel the world on the run from the price on Wash's head. The journey takes them around the globe, from Barbados to the Arctic and many points between—by hot air balloon, steamer, and even the Underground Railroad—in this adventure tale.

Few actresses have had as long-lived careers in Hollywood as Sally Field. From her premier role as Gidget in 1965 and her Oscar-winning turns in Norma Rae and Places in the Heart to beloved roles in films like Mrs. Doubtfire, Steel Magnolias, and Forrest Gump, her work has spanned decades and most of the phases of her life. In this new memoir, she not only takes fans behind the scenes of her work as an actress, but also provides insight into the private struggles that informed her growth as an artist and woman.

This prescient, millennial-minded novel stars Mark, a musician-cum-journalist-cum-PhD who finds his life on the skids when he moves into his parents' basement after his girlfriend refuses his marriage proposal. Thirty-something, indebted, and lacking job prospects, Mark makes a series of viral video posts online railing against the Boomer generation and finds himself at the center of a national controversy with more far-reaching implications than he could have ever guessed.

Hank Green has made his name as a YouTube sensation with channels like Vlogbrothers and the education-focused CrashCourse—both co-created with his brother, The Fault in Our Stars author John Green. Now he's following in his brother's footsteps once again with his debut novel. Packed with meditations on the nature of celebrity, social media, and the cultural response to the unknown, the tale follows April, who finds herself an unwitting celebrity after making a viral video with a sculpture that turns out to have mysterious "siblings" all over the globe.

When Mara Alencar arrives in the U.S. as an undocumented Brazilian immigrant, she's forced to make her way in this new country however she can. When she takes on a job as a caregiver for a cancer patient in Los Angeles, Mara is reminded of her mother, a beautiful actress who became embroiled in a dangerous undertaking with a civilian guerilla group in order to put food on the table. Park himself was diagnosed with stomach cancer, the same malady that plagues the determined Kathryn in the book, and passed away shortly after completing the novel, which Kirkus Reviews describes as "a beautiful testament to [Park's] extraordinary talents as a storyteller."

Lauren HubbardWriterLauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.

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